Personally, I can’t tolerate people who drink and drive. There is a very good reason why drinking and driving is illegal – intoxicating substances impair our judgement, and being behind the wheel whilst drunk is like a child running round with a knife. We see it all too often in the news when a person is badly hurt or killed because a driver loses control of their vehicle and causes an incident.
So what happens if you are the unfortunate victim of a drunk driver who has not only caused you a loss by mixing alcohol with driving, but also happens to have no insurance? It’s a lot more common than you might think. This dangerous combination though does not stop you making a claim for personal injury compensation.
Firstly, given that the other driver was drunk behind the wheel, I will assume they were at fault for your accident. But a claim for personal injury compensation is pursued against an insurance company – so how do you get your compensation if there is no insurance to claim from? Can you pursue the driver direct?
In theory you could pursue the driver direct, but if a person is drinking and driving without insurance, chances are they don’t have a few thousand pounds lying round to settle your claim for injury, loss, vehicle damages, and legal fees.
You can still claim for compensation!
The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) was established to assist in finding insurers details for drivers and tracing untraced drivers, like those in a hit and run. If they are unable to find an insurer, and we therefore have confirmation that the driver was definitely not insured, you can still make a full claim for compensation. The MIB will arrange for payment of compensation for pain, suffering, loss of amenity, and past losses and expenses. At the same time, they are liable to pay out the same fixed portal legal fees that an insurance company would do if the person was insured.
It works in almost the exact same way as it would have done had an insurer been there. The only difference is that it can take a little longer to settle the claim because the MIB have extra time to investigate claims and more time to respond with certain decisions. It’s not a huge difference, and it’s simply that way because the MIB is a Not For Profit organisation.
So if you have been the unfortunate victims of an uninsured drunk driver, give us a call 0800 634 7575 today.
